Biceps Like Steel Cables
by Praetorianwarrior
Summary: (There's no Hustle Cat sub category so this is going here in the Misc. section) Mason and Fem!Avery moments. Let me know if there's something in particular you want to see!
1. Fun While Alone

Avery winced as her back hit the wall, not hard enough to do damage, but enough that she'd feel it later. She didn't get to think on it too long before she felt a hand rest on her thigh. She coiled her legs tighter around her girlfriend's waist in response, enjoying the strength of her significant other. She could barely glance upwards to those beautiful eyes before she felt those powerful lips push against her own. Mason was still the same as when they first kissed, full of strength and threatening to push her head through the wall, not that she didn't like it mind you.

Avery let her eyes flutter closed, wrapping her arms around Mason's neck to pull her harder against her, taking a moment to enjoy the tightening of the grip on her thigh that was moving to her knee. She could feel Mason's other arm lean next to her head on the wall giving some leverage and stability. Avery pushed her body harder against Mason's, gasping slightly as she felt her lover bite her lower lip in response.

Mason. Mason. Mason. That name alone gave Avery chills now. Her Mason. Her strong, beautiful, quiet Mason. How long had it been since she met Mason? A few weeks, maybe more? It felt like months since she walked into the Cat's Paw's kitchen for the first time and met the silent woman. N-not that Avery was complaining! Avery had gained so many friends and what felt like a family since she walked into the cafe all those weeks ago. Weeks since she had that heart-to-heart with Mason in the creepy cafe basement.

...

...Wait a minute! Mason never told her her birthday! She'd need to find out so she could start looking for a Quartz necklace soon!

Avery tried to open her mouth to say something, what she couldn't remember, for as soon as she did Mason leaned forward and pushed her tongue into Avery's mouth. Oh well, she could always ask later when they weren't up to something fun~. She played with Mason's tongue, brushing her own tongue against it only to be pushed under by Mason's. It seemed every part of Mason was built like a tank, and she should know! Avery has spent a lot of time recently exploring and getting to know Mason's body.

Avery's breath hitched as she felt the hand on her leg move across and down to her butt to give it a rough squeeze. With her eyes closed it seemed her sense of touch was being extra sensitive. Maybe it was her magic helping her? She didn't know for sure if magic helped in the bedroom, or living room in this case, but she was all for it if she got to feel this more often.

She could feel the hand next to her head move to cup her cheek, leaning into the rough and warm calloused hand she'd come to love. A hand that was now gently tilting her head a certain way that let Mason push her tongue farther into her mouth, brushing her tongue against Avery's. Avery couldn't help but gasp softly as Mason squeezed her butt and pushed upwards, bringing Avery's head to equal height with Mason's.

Avery's eyelids fluttered as she tried to keep focus from Mason's insistent yet loving kissing. Oh wait, that was just her asphyxiating from not breathing, oops!

Avery took a deep breath through her nose, inhaling the scent of sweets and that certain smell that Mason always had that made Avery feel safer. Who wouldn't feel safe close to Mason? That strong body that could as easily dish out punishment as it could dishes.

Oh MAN that body! She could lift Avery over her shoulder like a bag of coffee beans! Or bridal style, THAT she was more prone to do. Her biceps that felt like steel cables and could clock a guy and knock him out in one hit! A toned stomach that Avery loved to run her fingers over whenever she had a moment. Mason was a beautiful, muscular woman and Avery was VERY happy she got Mason all to herself.

Avery was pulled from her thoughts as she felt Mason's hand move down her face to her neck, placing a hand across it softly while also applying a bit of pressure. It wasn't enough to choke her or anything, but the presence alone of her hand on Avery's neck was enough for Avery to feel her heartbeat pick up even more in response. She took a few more deep breaths of air while she could and pushed against her hand with a bit of force to get her point across.

She felt the hand on her neck squeeze more making every breathe come out in a quick huff. She knew how to drive Mason wild and vise versa. Avery tried to push her tongue against Mason's, only to feel Mason remove her tongue from Avery's mouth. She whined and pressed against her hands again, only to meet what felt like an unmovable surface. Avery opened her eyes, only to yelp as Mason lowered her somewhat, bringing that height difference that they both loved so much back into play. Avery had to tilt her head to look up to her girlfriend's face, thankful that Mason's grip on her neck had loosened somewhat and let her.

Avery bit her lip to keep wanton groan quiet, taking the moment to let her eyes explore Mason's body. She couldn't see much given the position, but she liked what she saw. That lovable reddish hair of hers was more unkempt than usual, almost hiding Mason's hooded green eyes. Her eyes were practically glowing with emotion causing Avery's breath to hitch.

She forced her eyes downwards, eyeing the growing blush on Mason's face, taking a moment to squeeze Mason's waist with her legs. Her lips were plump after all that kissing, and she seemed to be taking a few deep breaths as she eyed Avery up. Mason's neck was taught with muscle, her clavicle visible amidst the heavy breathing that she was, you know, doing.

Her normal gray jacket was gone, exposing those biceps Avery loved so much. Her black shirt was ruffled, hiked up somewhat from their activities and exposing the bottom of her stomach. The rest was concealed by Avery's legs wrapped tightly around her hips, not that she'd need to. Mason was more than strong enough to hold her by herself, they had multiple encounters to back that statement up~.

Avery looked up to Mason's face again, feeling a shiver shoot up her spine again. Being held by Mason, dominated by her always made Avery's knees shake, even if she was only thinking about it. Mason was making that face again. That sexy little half smirk she did with those narrowed eyes with her head bent a certain little way that made her seem even taller. That look always made Avery groan somewhat when she saw it. She mostly showed her that face when they were alone, but sometimes she'd even do it in public or at work just to tease her! Jerk.

"Avery."

Oh god, that voice. She could feel Mason's abdomen vibrate with every letter from that husky, raucous voice that could make Avery shiver with just a word. Her smirk was growing which didn't help matters at all, her hand on her neck drawing patterns and making me bite my lip. Avery loved her face. She mostly showed an air of irritation, but when she showed her one of her rare smiles or sweet laughter, Avery made sure to take notice.  
She bit her lip harder as Mason grabbed her hands and hold them above her head. Not so low it felt awkward, or too high it felt uncomfortable. She moved her hands a bit to test her lover's strength, and was happy to feel her lack of mobility. She eyed Mason's lips again, and was quite happy to feel her breath leave her as Mason pushed her body against hers' and mash their lips together again.


	2. Public Affection

Avery should have seen this coming. Mason was a naturally quiet person in public. Sure they'd kiss and spend time together when they were alone, and Mason would hold her hand when they walked either on their way or from work but _come on!_ She was practically filled to the brim with ideas of cute couple things they could do together like kissing under an archway or something!

Avery turned her head to the side to look at her taller girlfriend. Mason was facing forward towards the cafe, eyeing anyone that walked in their general direction. After that whole Nacht thing had blown over, Mason had made sure to keep an eye on Avery. It _was_ nice don't get her wrong! Feeling the calloused hand intertwined with her own never failed to make Avery blush a little bit. Those calloused hands belonged to an equally calloused person that could make Avery blush even more! It was almost unfair how little Mason blushed. Meanwhile Avery could blush up a storm from hand holding and a little bit of kissing! No fair!

She eyed their enclosed hands, watching the little sway their arms did when they walked. What did Mason think of her hands? She hadn't said anything about it yet, but that could mean a number of things. Did she think her hands her too small, or too sweaty? She didn't _think_ her hands got too sweaty from hand holding but sometimes she got caught up in her own head sometimes. It's not her fault! Mason was just so pretty and amazing that it was hard not to get caught up in her staring. That pinkish hair of hers was so much fun to run her hands through and tussle up, and those eyes of hers. That blue-green hue she had come to love staring at was always full of emotion. Even if she refused to be vocal about her emotions sometimes!

Avery leaned over and placed her head on Mason's shoulder, sighing from the body heat radiating off her. It was getting colder out now as fall approached. What would Mason wear when it got chilly? Would she wear the same thing, or maybe put on some flannel? The thought of Mason in flannel made Avery giggle somewhat. Mason in flannel and those black pants she always wore screamed 'punk rocker'. What kind of music was Mason into anyway? She hadn't really had the chance to find out what preference of music Mason had. Maybe she did like punk rock? Or maybe she had a hidden taste for classical!

She turned to look at Mason again, only to come face to face her instead. She had the usual impassive look on her face, but she _did_ have that little side smirk she'd do when Avery did something, like, _super_ ridiculous or rambled or something.

"What'cha thinkin' about?" That husky tone, _ugh._

 _'Her voice is so pretty'_ Avery thought to herself, once again somewhat disappointed that her strong girlfriend talked so little. She could listen to that voice for hours and never get bored.

"About you, so, ya' know, the usual." That smirk of hers was growing. Avery could feel the blush on her cheeks practically glowing by now. Would she ever stop being so flustered when Mason did something cute or when _she_ did something embarrassing? It wasn't fair how her girlfriend could be so impassive all the time! That stupid kissable face and those twinkling blue-green eyes she could get lost in.

Avery narrowed her brow before standing on the top of her toes to kiss her girlfriend's chin, grumbling to herself on how short she was. Sure it was nice to be the little spoon constantly, and yeah feeling Mason wrapping her arm around her body was _super nice_ , but still! Avery took a moment to absorb the surprised look on her face, which was really just a raised eyebrow, before winking at her girlfriend and facing forward again. That'll teach her! Maybe she got the hint? Maybe. Hopefully! Wait, why is her head turning?

Avery found herself staring into Mason's eyes again which had narrowed and was giving her a dangerous look. Oh no, did she do something wrong? Did Mason have a problem with public affection? She should apologize! Avery tried to open her mouth to say sorry but was interrupted by Mason pushing her lips against hers and holding her still with her hand on the back of Avery's head.

' _I guess she doesn't have a problem with affection in public after all.'_ Avery let her eyes close, enjoying the almost oppressive feel of Mason's lips against her own. She brought a hand up and ran it through Mason's hair, enjoying the feel of parting the soft locks with my fingers. Our hands were still intertwined between us, I squeezed her hand in response to the kiss. She was always such a good kisser.

It felt like only seconds had passed before she backed off, letting the hand behind Avery's head fall back to her side. That little grin she had was back, along with a small blush right underneath those pretty eyes.

' _I'm never gonna forget that face_ ' Avery knew she wouldn't, it's hard to forget the face of a buff angel who you're in love with.

"If yer gonna kiss me, gotta' do it right."

"W-what!? You love all my kisses! I'm like, the greatest Kisser Ever!" That got her to laugh. God, her laugh is so fantastic.

"Come on, gonna be late." I squeezed her hand again and was rewarded with a squeeze in return.

"Fine, but i'm gonna need more kisses later. I require kisses of the highest quality, and don't think just because we're at work you're getting off the hook!" She smiled in response and let go of my hand to wrap an arm around my shoulder and pull me close. I grabbed her hand anyway cause I could. I put my other hand in my hoodie pocket and we resumed our walk. My blush still hadn't gone down, and it didn't help that some people were staring due to our show of affection.

" _Be jelly losers! I've got the best girlfriend in the world!_ "


	3. Winding Up While Winding Down

Ever since Avery had gotten the job at _A Cat's Paw,_ she hadn't spent nearly as much time at Aunt Wendy's apartment like she used to. Obviously, having a job would cut that time down, but it didn't help that, at the time, her biggest crush worked there as well. So when on the few days she didn't work, Avery still ended up at the cafe, either to hang out everybody there, or help out front with Landry and Finley when it was busy. And the amount of time she spent at the cafe hadn't really changed after the whole _curse_ thing blew over. Instead of working out front with a few of the others, she found herself working alongside her newest and only girlfriend Mason in the kitchen.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, Mason had a clear cut view on being affectionate in the kitchen. If they had customers: No funny business besides a little brush here or there. And they often worked alongside one another too so it wasn't like the chance rarely came up.

But if the day was running pretty slow or Mason wasn't working? All bets were off, along with Mason's gloves and little hair...net...thing. Avery couldn't recall the number of surprise kisses or impromptu makeout sessions against the wall while Hayes was out and about. And luckily they hadn't really gotten caught! Sure there were a few close calls here and there and it wasn't like they could hide it since Avery's blushing just gave it away. And it wasn't like Avery could just say no or something! Those makeouts against the wall were the best! Her trapping her against the cold wall, arms on either side of here or one holding her chin up. Those soft lips that had enough force behind it to keep Avery there as long as she wanted. She liked everything about it, especially the person doing it.

' _Stupid sensitive body and stupid sensitive cheeks!'_ She was just glad she didn't think about it too much when she was working with the others; they'd just think she was sick or something. Or they'd know what she was thinking about and wouldn't stop teasing her about it.

Today had been no different! Well, a little different. She had cleaned Aunt Wendy's apartment recently and had been hoping to ask her if she wanted to come back to her apartment and cook together and spend the night with one another! Avery wasn't sure what people did if they spent the night together, but she had some ideas thanks to Google.

She got to the cafe around 8 to help Mason with morning breakfast and then partake in said morning tradition with her friends. Mason still spent the nights at her grandpa's and made it to work before Avery no matter how hard she tried to get there before her sometimes. After that she went back to help Mason with getting the food ready for the customers that might come in. Around lunch Mason would head out front to chat with her visiting grandfather and _Avery_ would make his lunch! Sure he was brutally honest but that only made the rare compliments shine brighter!

After he finished lunch and chatted with Mason she'd head back into the kitchen and swap with Avery letting her grandfather give his critique to Avery and chat with them about their day. Today's conversation had gone no different, swapping back and forth about their day, Avery dropping a hint here and there about how their relationship with Mason had become _more_ than just close friendship. " _It wasn't like she was afraid of him not approving or something_ " Avery'd tell her worried girlfriend, Avery was just extremely shy and embarrassed about talking about it. Like, _how_ do you tell someone's grandpa that you're dating and making out daily with their granddaughter? It was weird!

One of her hints must've gone through today however since he stopped talking for a second before smiling at her like he was in on some secret. The conversation started up again after that, although he never stopped giving her that coy smile she had seen on Mason's face a few times. After that he finished up and said his goodbyes to her and Mason before heading back to his corner store.

The day went normally after that, and they finished wrapping up before the sun had completely gone down so they could relax on the crescent shaped couch in the middle of the room, giving them a wide view of both the cats and the setting sun from outside the tall windows. Mason was the big spoon obviously, sitting against the back of the couch with her back against the armrest. Avery took up the space in Mason's lap, leaning back against her and holding hands together. One of Mason's hands was stretched out somewhat along the edge of the couch and the other was crossed across Avery's stomach like a seat belt on a roller coaster.

 _'I wonder if this roller coaster is good at making me scream?'_ And there she goes. Avery closed her eyes and laid her head against the nape of Mason's neck, trying to block out the rising heat across her cheeks. Thoughts bounced around her head of Mason around her, from cuddling here to pinning her against the wall in various states of clothing. What's Mason like in...there? Was she gentle like when they were in public, or maybe more rough like when they made out in the kitchen?

Now, Avery was pretty dense. She knew that without a doubt. It'd be surprising if anyone at the cafe _didn't_ know that. Even though Avery was more dense than the walls of her apartment, she had noticed things about Mason. Like how slow she was to let go of Avery in the kitchen after some normal kissing. It wasn't like Avery was in a hurry or anything but even if it was just Mason holding Avery's hand when they walked towards the intersection where they'd kiss goodbye, Mason was slow to let go. Like a few minutes kind of slow. Avery didn't mind, it let her hug Mason some more. If Avery managed to ask and Mason agreed, she supposed she'd find out sooner or later.

 _"..."_ Avery openedher mouth only for little more than a noise resembling an angry cat to come out. She hoped for a second that Mason hadn't heard it, a tiny little sliver of hope that Mason didn't hear a tiny garbled noise coming from her smaller girlfriend. Alas, it was not to be. Mason hummed and kissed the back of Avery's hair remaining silent yet attentive.

"D-do...you wanna...come over a-and...s-stay the night...?" Wow, nice landing Avery. Smoother deliveries could be been seen from a plane crash. She could feel Mason stiffen somewhat in response. Avery was too nervous to turn around, fixing her stare on a sleeping cat across the room and hoping she didn't burn up in embarrassment.

' _She's not saying anything. She's not saying anything! Am I moving too fast!? Does she not want to hang out too much with me? Oh no. What if she thinks I only wanna get in her pants or something!?'_ Thankfully her train of thought of stopped by Mason nuzzling into the back of her neck again, bringing their other intertwined hands to join the other pair around Avery's stomach.

"Sure." Avery startled slightly at her voice, before relaxing into Mason's embrace and closed her eyes, enjoying the feel of Mason's powerful and rapid heartbeat. She tried to ignore the sound of what seemed like a camera shutter coming from the second floor.


	4. Relaxing After Winding Down

Avery yawned and stretched languidly while eyeing the rising sun from the comfort of her bed, enjoying the feeling of another body press against her back. She could feel Mason's arms wrapped around her stomach along with the comforting, slow breathing against the back of her neck. Avery was too embarrassed to tell her, but she always found comfort in the way Mason's breath felt against her neck. It was slow but gentle, a reminder that she was there for Avery and Avery alone.

She would be the first to admit how much she loved sleeping with her girlfriend. Mason's strong body and equally tough personality could provide a welcome anchor for Avery's klutzy persona. She couldn't help how safe she felt when she was with her! She was always there to help reign in Avery if she rambled too much, not like Mason ever grew tired of Avery talking. The only times Mason every stopped Avery were when she got too emotional or started spiraling into a fit: One example being when she first found out that being an employee of A Cat's Paw would transform her into a cat.

Avery blinked a few times to get the sleep out of her eyes, looking over to eye the new alarm clock on her nightstand. It had been a gift from Mason along with some things when they had moved into a new apartment together, giving aunt Wendy's apartment a good cleaning in thanks of letting Avery crash there while Wendy was gone. Mason's stay there hadn't been vocalized, but official regardless. Avery had still been moving some of her things into the new apartment when Mason dropped by with her own things along with some welcoming gifts. Avery didn't have much to move in with since the apartment was already furnished, but it didn't hurt that Mason had grabbed her duffle bag as soon as she walked in.

Dinner that night had been a...busy affair. Avery had done most of the cooking with Mason giving a hand every now and then to check her progress. Avery was proud to say that her cooking skills were coming along nicely! When they were at work, Avery would often be in the kitchen with Hayes and Mason to help with food, or out front as well if things got pretty hectic if there was a large enough crowd. Mason was the head chef so she was required in the back at all times while Hayes was...Hayes. Avery didn't blame him, the crowd could get insufferable sometimes especially if a certain famous cat was putting on a show.

What had made dinner busy was that Mason had been especially...affectionate that night. Avery had just finished cooking when she felt Mason walk up behind her. Avery could barely manage a surprised yelp before she was pulled away from the stove and planted on the neighboring counter. Her butt had barely hit the granite top before Mason had pushed her lips against Avery's into a warm and forceful kiss.

All Avery could do was sigh happily and wrap her arms around Mason's neck, enjoying Mason's soft yet strong touch. She hadn't relented one bit since they first started dating and Avery was enjoying every second of it. She had to do everything she could to just keep up with Mason, but she enjoyed that too. She also enjoyed running her hand through Mason's surprisingly soft hair when she could. Avery shivered as Mason put her hands on her sides and pulled Avery against her, her legs wrapping around Mason's waist in response. She had supposed dinner could wait, but she hadn't been aware of the fact that neither of them would actually be eating dinner that night.

Avery was pulled from her thoughts by her shivering and snuggled closer against Mason, hiking the thick comforter up to her shoulder. Winter had descended on the city and Avery was happier than ever that Mason had such a hot body. Her buff babe of a girlfriend always wore a T-shirt and panties to bed, similar to Avery's cat shirt and pajama short shorts. The skin on skin contact had never failed to make Avery feel better, reminding her that this was her life now and not eating pizza for breakfast while only having Mochi for company.

Even Mochi was eating better thanks to Mason! Mason seemed to provide an anchor for Avery and Mochi's bad lifestyle, taking out the bad food and lazy parts and replacing them with better food and a little bit of exercise.

Sure they still had pizza sometimes and junk food was still a part of their diet, but Mason had put her foot down on their eating habits of it got too bad. They had also been spending more time together together while at the café. Of course they still kept their distances if they were working, but if they were winding down after Landry or Reese had locked the doors and all the customers had left? They'd spend the time together. It's not like they made out on the couch or something! But, you know, hand holding and things.

Everyone at the café had been fine with the whole thing which definitely helped. Landry was supportive as always, jokingly stating that "if it helps your work ethic, I'm fine with whatever!"

Reese hadn't really said anything about them since that argument that Mason intervened in all those weeks ago, although Avery did see Reese do a double-take sometimes when Mason did something...couple-y(?) when they were relaxing.

Hayes didn't say much when she asked him, replying with a stutter that Mason seemed happier and more talkative in the kitchen, if only a little.

Graves only replied with his cryptic nonsense when she asked him about her and Mason's relationship (He was their boss still!), something about "How did it happen that their lips came together? How does it happen that birds sing, that snow melts, that the rose unfolds, that the blah blah blah blah something about animals"

Avery was too embarrassed to keep listening, cupping her hands over her ears and walking away while yelling about being crystal clear.

Finley. Oh Finley. She had become their impromptu relationship cheerleader when it was apparent Mason and her were together. She'd give Avery those little wink-(y?) looks when they were at breakfast; Although Avery guessed she did the same to Mason sometimes. She'd also take a picture of them sometimes when they were relaxing, like relaxing on the big couch in the middle of the room on their days off or after work. Even if she tried to be discrete about it, the squealing and something about that "Bl st Zone" game she still hadn't lent her gave her away.

The cuddling at the café was nice, only slightly uncomfortable since they had so many articles of clothes on a jacket could get pretty annoying, especially if it did that overlap thing! Avery hated that, the ends messing up when they were getting into position so they had to spend More time to fix the stupid thing! It was nothing like cuddling with pajama clothing. The few clothes they had on didn't get too messed up while they were snuggling together, and it let them be closer than if more clothes were in the way. Pajama clothing was far superior, like now for example.

Avery sighed and pressed herself closer against Mason, taking a minute to enjoy the protective and safe presence Mason could create. One arm placed under Avery's neck connected with the other right above Avery's naval with her arms holding them there. It was good today was another day off for the café workers cause there was no way she was getting out of this bed anytime soon!


	5. Rush Hour

Avery pushed open the basement door, carrying a bag of coffee beans and flour with her into the kitchen. The kitchen looked like a flour covered wasteland. The sink was covered in dirty dishes and mugs with a separate stack next to the sink that looked freshly cleaned. Dough covered most of the counters with multiple imprints of hands and circles. And at the center of it all was her beautiful buff babe Mason. She had a bandana wrapped around her hair and was currently separating the dough that would be made into those adorable cat donuts with the tiny ears. Mason's usual black shirt had been replaced by a white shirt with red stripes "to help with stains" she told Avery earlier. Avery could see Hayes in one corner of the room bustling about with coffee mugs in his hands. His usual nervous look had been replaced with an even more nervous one as he hurried about.

Avery sighed and hurried towards Mason while shutting the basement door with her foot. She swerved around empty bags and kitchen clutter while dropping the bag of flour with her, making sure to affectionately boop Mason's back with her head before heading off to drop the coffee by Hayes. He nods once and gets right back to getting coffee to the food trays.

She hurried to shrug off her new hoodie and dump it by the back door, fixing her orange shirt as she hurried back to Mason. The shirt had been a gift from Mason, not like she told Avery that. Avery had found it brand new in her closet with the tags still on. When she had asked Mason about it the chef had only shrugged with a self-satisfied smirk on her face. The hoodie had been Avery's to buy however. She had noticed a few times in one of the windows at a store she passed by on the way to work and decided it was only right to splurge a bit on herself after saving up so much money for the new condo she lived in with Mason.

Avery moved to the side of Mason while grabbing some of the dough that was still left, mashing it and separating it like Mason was. They worked in sync, handing the other more dough when one of them ran out. In between the dough moving they took turns going to the oven and taking out trays of cooked donuts, putting them to the side so the other could put frosting on them and separate them onto trays with cups of coffee on them for the many, many patrons outside.

Landry pushed himself into the kitchen through the door with Reese following behind him. They both made a grab for the plates of food and mugs of coffee on the wide circular trays, grabbing as much as they could before moving back out to the crowd. Even from the kitchen they could hear the crowd of people fawn over the internet sensation Jelly Donut. Initially after the curse breaking Finley hadn't been able to turn back into a cat, much to her displeasure. Thankfully Graves had told them that they could learn to transform at will with proper training. Finley was expectedly the first to figure out how to transform back into her cat self. Some of the others hadn't really cared for learning (Landry mostly). Avery had initially been against the idea at first cause that's why she had learned magic in the first place, but after a bit she had been interested in it. After all, how many people could say that they could turn into a cat? Probably more people than she thought honestly. She didn't know how many witches were out there, or if turning yourself into a cat was common as a witch.

It had taken a little longer than she would've liked but eventually, she had done it! It had been pretty jarring to go from five and half feet tall to barely a foot tall. There was some flash of...smoke maybe? And then there she was, a tiny cat in the middle of the cafe which suddenly looked a lot bigger all of a sudden. Moving around also took some time because of the physical changes, like how dependent whatever type of cat she was on their tails! She eventually found a mirror and was happy to see she was officially a cat! Purple eyes stared back from the mirror as she eyed up her new body. She was a calico cat covered in mostly _grey_ fur which was followed by patches of a few different shades of gray and white. She had to admit, she looked cute as hell, but what did she know? She found every type of cat cute, from Siamese to Maine coons.

Unfortunately for now, she'd have to stay human to help the others with the overwhelming siege of patrons currently outside the door. Hayes was bustling in and out of the kitchen like Reese and Landry, carrying varying levels of coffee mugs back and forth. Sometimes he left with only a few mugs on the tray, only to come back with the tray covered in mugs with varying levels of coffee in them.

Avery hurried with her batch of donuts, putting what _looked_ like the right amount of frosting on them before putting them on a plate and then onto the closest tray with some space left on it. various donuts of colors stared at her from the tray, all of which had two little cat ears on them with tiny cat faces on them. They looked _so~ooo_ good but she knew how much trouble she'd get in if she got caught taking one. Her girlfriend had put a stop to that first time she saw it. She was scary when she wanted too, the fact that Avery was still super attracted to her when she first started working here didn't help matters. The intimidating woman had surprised Avery when she first started working at the cafe. Sure she was quiet and looked like she was always scowling, but Avery was happy to see that she was actually quite caring after getting to know her. Mason had helped Avery with getting the hang of things in the kitchen like when Avery tried to move all the collapsed boxes that were all much to wide for her to carry. It was the first time of many she'd hear Mason laugh, and each time was always worth it in Avery's opinion.

But for now, she'd have to leave her girlfriend in the dirty kitchen so Avery could help the others so with a bit of a flourish she moved to Mason's side and kissed the side of her neck. She always enjoyed the little smiles she got in return for kisses, but enjoyed the wide smile she had only seen a few times far more. The look of utter happiness on Mason's face could make Avery's heart soar no matter how she felt.

"I'm gonna help the others, k?" Mason nodded and went back to the donuts in front of her, finishing putting on the frosting on another tray to donuts like the absolute pro that she was. Avery took over the last tray, adding coffee mugs to each along with the packets of creamer and milk for the customers. With a final look to Mason to give her a wink, Avery turned away and walked through the doors to to face the crowd of hungry fans.


	6. Emotional Support

Avery's vision clouded with unshed tears, as did Finley's from what she could see. As the scene in front of them progressed, it proved fruitless to try and keep the tears back as she hiccuped while grabbing Finley's arm. Finley was proving no better off, wiping the tears from her eyes while deeply breathing to try and keep her breath steady. Avery could already feel her throat closing as she tried to keep herself from outright sobbing. Finley had made a grab for the tissues only for the scene to spiral down even further causing her to cry out and clutch her chest. It hurt them both to watch the scene, but it proved impossible to look away, both sets of teary eyes watching the depressing scene with rapt attention.

The music playing in the background only served to further tug at their heartstrings as they watched the emotional ending of the newest Dating Simulator. It had come to a complete surprise to them both, neither having expected a dating sim to actually capture their attention.

The game hadn't been too long, but the amazing soundtrack, the memorable characters, and the heart-throbbing emotional situations only sunk them deeper into the game's clutches. They had debated on who to date, but had eventually settled on the strong-willed character with a tragic backstory neither of them had expected. The character progression as they moved through the game had formed a real connection to both their character and their date of choice.

Unlike most of their previous endeavors into the dating sim world, this game had focused on almost all the characters, allowing all of them to form friendships to the main character. A subtle introduction to the main villain and the situations the character faced as they tried to date their buff date only served to further cause their spiral through the game until they finally reached the emotion-filled kissing scene that had caused both girls to shriek with joy.

To Avery, it had felt like only a few scant scenes later showed the character's guidance figure grievous attack by the main villain, throwing them into the light followed by a nerve-wracking final fight that had them on the edge of their seats. Thankfully the character teamed up with their love interest with the help of their friends to finally take down the villain, but were unable to stop the tragic but timely death of their character's mentor. An emotional ending involving their character going through their sadness with the support of their love interest with all of their friends giving words of support. Each character had given an emotional speech that had matched their personalities, followed by a touching scene of love between the love interest and protagonist and what had happened afterword in the short term.

To be honest, Avery's eyes had started glistening at the attack of the protagonist's mentor, a heavy part of it caused by the ear-catching, beautifully placed music, but she had held on for Finley's sake. The poor girl looked shell-shocked as the tragedy unfolded, but had affirmed to herself that the mentor would make it through. The emotional moments that followed only seemed to reduce to poor Finley to a blubbering mess.

As the credits rolled over the screen, Avery and Finley collapsed against each other and cried to the sound of the touching orchestra that played over the credits. The blubbering mixed in with the soundtrack as they sat in the quiet apartment, the only light beside the screen coming from the setting sun through their window across the room adding to the memorable moment.

The "silence" was disturbed by the opening of the apartment door and the movement of plastic bags. The thud of the door closing and heavy footsteps that followed were ignored by the two girls as they tried to recover from their emotional outburst. The footsteps grew closer to the couch as did the speed of the steps until it stopped right behind the couch. The girl's quieting cries were interrupted by a heavy sigh as the figure behind them moved to the front of the couch.

Avery was pulled out of her emotional state by her girlfriend physically pulling her away from Finley before Mason fell onto the couch and pulled Avery on top of her. Avery was only too happy to wrap her arms around her girlfriend's body and push herself against her girlfriend.

After a moment, Avery and Mason moved one of their arms in sync to grab and pull Finley against them, the dark haired girl collapsing into their sides and wrapping her arms around the couple. Their sobs had reduced to quiet sniffling, but neither wanted to move. Avery tightened her grip on the two girls, enjoying the heavy breathing of her girlfriend calming her upset heart. She could hear Finley calming down as well, and kissed Mason's arm.

"Thanks babe..." Avery's voice was shaky.

"Yeah, thanks sweetie~" Finley's was as well. Mason huffed and Avery gave a shaky chuckle.

"Game any good?" Both Finley and Avery nodded against Mason's body in response.

"Avery." Finley's voice was muffled by Mason's side.

"We need Mason to play the game." Both Mason and Avery grew still, but because of very different reasons. Avery pulled her face from Mason's chest and gave her a cheeky grin.

"No." Both smaller girls groaned and wrapped themselves around Avery's buff babe. The red haired girlfriend ignored the two girls holding her down as she eyed the main title screen that showed a face flashing out of what looked like a window.

"Please? For me?" Avery gave Mason a fake hurt look, taking advantage of her still misty eyes to look into Mason's eyes.

 _*bump*_

Avery turned her head slightly to see Finley pushing her head against Avery's while giving Mason the same stare. It was even more effective since Finley even had a small quivering bottom lip to go with it. Looking back at Mason, Avery could already see her defenses crumbling, her will to resist her closest friend and girlfriend lowering.

 _'I need Finley to teach me that!'_ Mason had that look on her face again. That face she made when she was trying to hide a smile, or a blush.

"Groceries..."

 _'A valiant effort Mason, but you're not getting out of this!'_

"I'll take care of it! I've been over enough times to put everything away blindfolded!" Avery turned to her friend and raised an eyebrow in skepticism.

"Can you really?"

"Hm?"

 _'See! Even Mason doesn't believe you!'_

"Yep, now let this _adorable_ girl here go put away _your_ food while _you_ two lovers entrance yourselves in the life of our protagonist!"

"Never said yes..." And with Mason's half-hearted complaint going unanswered, Finley stood up on the couch while waving a finger at them before hopping over the top. Avery made sure to move Mason's head with her hand to keep Finley's foot from hitting her. After that, Avery made a grab for the laptop that connected to their TV to restart the game.

As they went to the character creation scene, Avery had an epiphany that caused her to back up and fly back into Mason's body, which only made Avery feel like she took more damage than Mason did. She took a moment to kiss Mason, and was rewarded with equal passion from her tall glass of muscle. Avery felt herself relax against her girlfriend's body, her hands moving to cup Mason's face as her body sagged against her girlfriend's.

"Keep it PG, lovebirds! There is _royalty_ present~." Both Mason and Avery turned their faces to see Finley standing there with hands on hips, looking every bit a scolding parent would look like. Mason gave her an obviously fake stink eye in response while Avery just switched herself around until she sat in her girlfriend's lap.

"Oh, yeah! Fin, should we go with the same person as before?" Avery bit her lip, already missing her girlfriend's powerful and amazing kisses.

"Don't you worry your pretty little head, Avery! I already had the chance to think about that while I was putting things away, and while _somebody_ was sucking someone else's face~!"

Mason didn't even look a little sheepish. She had that same scowl look she always had, although Avery could see Mason's lip trying to hide a smirk. An obvious smirk that Avery had seen too many times to count. Avery had the decency to look at least a little apologetic.

"So? What do you think?"

"It's in my humble opinion we should let Mason decide! We've only done one route so the rest of the game might hold up well to multiple runs." Finley stated while holding her chin like she was some great thinker. Avery agreed and laid back against Mason's chest for a moment, only to shoot back up in faux anger.

"Hey, wait a minute! This is _our_ apartment! _WE_ can do whatever _WE_ want, right babe?" She turned to look at Mason, only to lean back a bit due to Mason suddenly moving her head _very_ close to Avery's. She didn't even bother to try and hide her smirk anymore.

" _Whatever_ we want?" Avery had to resist the urge to shiver. She was using that voice again. That husky voice that she _never_ used in _public_. In private, that voice came out a _lot_ more often.

"Ew! No banging each other while I'm here ple~eeease?" Finley's ears were tinged pink while she gave the dreaded "Disappointed Parent Look" or, the "DPL" as Avery nicknamed it. Avery couldn't keep the blush off her cheeks as she turned away, thankful she had already changed into some pajama clothing to keep the heat on the down low. If she had her hoodie on she probably would have burst into shameful flames by now.

"Fine." Avery silently thanked Mason as she collapsed against her body again.

"While you're awake."

"M-MASON!"

"You guys would probably wake me up to be honest with how _loud_ you guys get."

"FINLEY!"


	7. Betrayal

Buried underneath the comforter she had wrapped around herself, Avery watched with bleary eyes as Mason walked out of the dimly lit bedroom with only a pair of boxer briefs on.

 _'Hate to see you leave but love to watch you go~.'_ They made her butt look nice, and Avery was one to know. It was hard not to stare at her girlfriend's rear whenever she had the chance. The amount of time Mason had spent working out had turned her body into a piece of art, and Avery was going to admire that artwork whenever she could.

Avery couldn't remember why Mason had gotten out of bed so early. Yeah, Mason got up early anyway, but this was earlier than usual. The sun hadn't even had a chance to come up over the winter-gripped city. The cold weather had descended upon the city in force, and the snow that was already on the ground was keeping most people inside, and one of those people's included Avery.

Mason was indifferent about the snow, just like a lot of things in her life,but the snow had revealed something about Mason that Avery had not suspected once about Avery. Recently, it had come to light that Mason had more of a joking nature than Avery had thought. But now, the snow revealed how far that "joking nature" really went.

It had happened a few days prior. Avery had been standing at the counter getting some coffee ready before they went off for work, a little something that would give her an edge during the morning prep. The snow had only been a few inches, but it had been enough. Avery had had an idea about Mason's joking side, piecing it together from the gentle teasing and jokes she had given Avery over the duration of their relationship, but nothing could have prepared her for how far Mason could go. How far Mason _would_ go.

The apartment had been quiet. The fat cat Mochi was in the living room, sleeping in his cat bed. Mason had walked out earlier, going for a morning jog while the snow was still low enough. The forecaster had said that the snow was only going to get bigger so Mason had gone out "While she still could."

It had made Avery snort a little when Mason told her that. Nothing as miniscule as _snow_ was going to stop Mason from her morning exercise. Her morning ritual was almost religious in how much her athletic girlfriend stuck to her exercise plan. Sure it interrupted morning cuddling, but _damn_ was it nice to watch.

 _'Those muscles...Every part of her looks so~ nice! Those arms could rip me in half and I'd say "thank you" to her. Her abs were rock hard, so hot I could fry an egg on them...and those thighs! Could crush a watermelon with those weapons no problem~!'_

At this point, Avery was so swept in her mental gratification of her girlfriend's body that she hadn't even noticed that Mason had come back inside. Her girlfriend had been wearing a tank top with some track pants, from what Avery could remember. After the incident, Mason had told Avery that she called out Avery's name when she came back in, but Avery hadn't responded. After following the sound of grinding coffee, Mason found her girlfriend leaning over the counter lost in thought.

Mason had called out her name again, but Avery was too lost in her mind to notice. It had taken a moment for a plan to formulate in Mason's mind, but a moment was all it would take. Only a moment that would create a plan so _dastardly_ , so _insidious_ that it destroyed all the trust Avery had in the relationship she had built with her girlfriend.

It had taken a second, but Mason was back from her gathering. She had made sure to dampen her usually loud footsteps, until she was standing directly behind Avery's thoughtful form.

Avery never stood a chance...

Biting her lip to keep her grin from appearing, Mason leaned forward and moved her ice cold hands up Avery's shirt and pressed them against her smaller girlfriend's sides.

The ringing ears and elbow to the jaw had been well worth it in Mason's opinion. Avery had refused to talk to them for the better part of an hour, despite the fact that Mason had cuddled up against them for most of said hour. Mason wasn't blind, she knew how much Avery loved her body. And she was eternally grateful for that. Sure the gratification and validation of her body weren't something she needed, but it had been nice for her girlfriend to enjoy every part of her. To be loved so effortlessly and completely had taken Mason by surprise.

Avery hadn't been her first partner, but she had easily been her best. When she was younger and still living with her grandfather, she had gotten into a mess of relationships with a few girls and boys she had thought of as "friends" back then. They had been a start to Mason's standoffish attitude, finding it easier to push others away than let them in and hurt her.

After getting her job at the cafe, her life seemed to do a complete turnaround. Turning into a cat had been nice, but she was getting off topic. She had made friends, _real_ friends. Finley had put up with her apathetic attitude and quickly became an important part of her life. The others had been nice to her, but none of them had tried to actually get to know _her_ besides her mask. After a while Mason had been okay with Finley being the only person of importance to her, but then Avery came.

The girl who barely seemed to qualify as an adult had properly thrown a wrench into her life, but in Mason's opinion it was a wrench Mason would hit herself with if it meant she'd get to stay with Avery. Seeing the klutz go about the cafe and meet everyone, including her, with the same degree of nervous enthusiasm had sent Mason's heart aflutter before she had even realized it. She still responded in the same unenthused manner she had grown accustom to, and it saddened her to see the white-haired girl look so nervous around her. Thankfully, Finley had saved the day by forcefully nodding her head and joking around.

 _"See, she likes you already Avery!"_ It had taken some will of hers to keep herself from yelling at Finley, because of _course_ Finley of all people had noticed her feelings for the girl, despite them only existing for less than twenty seconds.

I wanted to go back into the kitchen.

I could practically feel Finley's teasing eyes on me as she I the diminutive girl who sat a few seats away digging into the breakfast on her plate looking every part a starving animal given food for the first time. While digging into her own food, I tried to get Finley to drop it by giving her the stink eye, but that only seemed to make her grin more from across the table.

"Wow, this is amazing! Mason, what is this egg thing?" My eyes moved to stare at the newest employee, only to get caught in the vibrant purple of her eyes. It seemed to suck me in, her eyes filled with energy and excitement.

 _'Her eyes are really pretty...wait, did she ask me something?'_

Swallowing my food, I tried to get the image of those purple eyes out of my head.

"...Frittata." And cue me wanting to go back to the kitchen. At least there I couldn't be embarrassed by cute girls. Avery didn't even seem to care about my lack of conversational skills, looking even more curious than before.

"Is that like a soufflé? It looks like it'd be really hard to make." Not really, just a few veggies and some eggs and a bit of stirring and that's pretty much it.

"Just eggs and vegetables in a pan." The girl just seemed to shrug in response.

"Still! I know I wouldn't be able to make anything like that. It's nice to have a real breakfast for a change."

 _'Wait what.'_

 _"Real breakfast?"_ Were they being neglected at home or something? From where I sat I could see even Landry pick up on it, looking more interested than before. Avery didn't look malnourished, just a bit thin and small. Not as small as Reese though.

"What do you usually eat, Avery?" Finley willing to break the new ice, thanks.

"Mostly cold pizza, or toaster tarts I guess, if I remember to get them."

 _'Oh, not neglected, just bad eating habits' I_ could see Landry wind down in relief, looking every bit a mama bird he'd come to be known as. He was nice enough, checked in on me and Hayes in the kitchen to see if they needed anything. Wait. Cold pizza?

I turn and glare hard at Avery, taking a bit of enjoyment in how hard they tensed. Who ate cold pizza for breakfast? That was universally known as being terrible for you.

"You eat here now. Always." If this kid was going to be working with them, they were going to be getting an actual breakfast. Not cold pizza. Not crappy plastic wrapped chemical pumped flour. Breakfast, real food.

"Er...can I still have pizza sometimes?" I rolled my eyes.

"Not for breakfast. Ever." I made sure to put extra emphasis on the ever, this kid's eating habits were going down. From across the table I could still hear Reese and Finley snickering at Avery, and I tried not to roll my eyes. Both of them had gone through the same thing. Finley didn't even use to eat breakfast before she started working here, her college days getting in the way. Reese had been the opposite. He'd stuff his face, then try and go the rest of the day without eating. I had broken that pretty fast, saying that was probably the reason he was still so short like he hadn't gone through puberty. He still ate a hearty amount at breakfast, but she had Landry thankfully to bother Reese about eating during lunch.

"Okay...but other times are still okay, right?" Avery's nervous request made me roll my eyes before I went back to my food and coffee. The less of that stuff she ate the better.

Soon enough Reese was rowing into Avery about dress code, and I can feel my irritation rising. He had tried with me, and me being new to the whole actual job thing, went with it.

I made sure to rip the uniform apart before he could get it back, but it seemed he made a new one. Landry seemed as uncomfortable with it as I was, and Hayes was already gone.

"...this is about uniforms." I sent my chair backwards, almost tipping it over. I lean forward and grab Avery's finished plate.

"Opening's soon. Time to get ready." I grab some more plates and the skillet, while internally enjoying Avery's wide-eyed look she was giving me.

"Come on." I beckon towards the kitchen and walk away, leaving her with Reese, Landry and Finley. If she didn't come to the kitchen, the blame was on her.

 _'And the rest is history, I guess.'_ She stepped back into the bedroom, the sun just now shining its' rays into the room. Mason could see Avery still under the swaddle of blankets, looking every part like a human version of the fat cat downstairs.

"Did you do anything?" Mason had to bite her cheek to keep herself from chuckling. Even from across the room, she could feel Avery's skeptic glare from underneath the covers.

"Just fed Mochi. Did nothing else." Mason raised her hands, palms facing Avery, to show her point.

Mason made sure to flex her muscles though while doing so, from her arms to her calves. She preened internally at the feeling of Avery's eyes raking over her body. It never got old.

"Can I come back to bed now?" She couldn't keep the laughter out of her voice which she was sure Avery picked up on, but they moved the covers in response, giving her an easy way in.

"Get in." Mason was all too happy to oblige.


	8. Unmovable Mountain and Unrelenting Force

Avery's eyelids are heavy from sleep, so she lets them stay down. The first thing she felt was the warm presence of her girlfriend, her arms wrapped over Avery's body like a warm blanket while Mason's body pushed up against her back. Their blanket covered them from the waist down, so Avery couldn't help but feel the cold bite against her face.

Winter had descended on the city in force, and the snow kept them inside most of the time. Mason had still been adamant about her exercise route, but Avery had put her foot down when the snow only kept growing. She had been fine with Mason doing a lot of things, but potentially hurting herself by exercising in the knee high snow had forced Avery to intervene. She _knew_ Mason, how stubborn she could be when she put her mind to something, or thought it was for the best. The situation between her and her grandpa could attest to that.

For now, the rising sun was covered by gray clouds, and Avery Grey was covered by her girlfriend Mason. She was _not_ moving and she was _not_ letting her girlfriend get out of bed.

"Avery..."

 _'Nope. I refuse. She can't make me let go!'_ She clung to her girlfriend's arms, coiling her legs around Mason's just in case. Her girlfriend had yet to actually rise out of bed, merely pulling her head back to eye her smaller lover. Sure her girlfriend could bench press her a dozen times easy, but there was no way she was letting her go just so Avery could freeze in bed!

"Avery." Avery just shook her head and pressed her back against Mason's chest. It wasn't like they had anything to do today! They could spend all day in bed and nothing bad would happen. They didn't have work today, the snow was bad enough almost everyone was inside, and Mason had brought her workout things with her when they moved in together!

"Avery."

"Please, just, stay with me? You can work out and look hot later, it's cold and I need my girlfriend by my side to keep me warm." Avery could hear Mason snort, before feeling her head gently press against the back of her neck.

"Just for a little bit...only for you." Avery smiled and ran her thumb along Mason's knuckles, counting the digits as she listened to the snow fall outside their window. From where she laid, Avery could only hear the occasional rustle of the blankets, and her and Mason's breathing. The apartment was silent, and the outside world seemed to be just as still. The snow seemingly encapturing all the sounds the city could give off and covering it under a heavy blanket of frozen water.

Avery opened her eyes for the first time that morning, and was thankful their room was still dark. She had always hated the accursed sun that seemed to always be there at the worst moments. But for now, the snow was too much for the sun's mighty rays to pierce, and Avery was going to take full advantage.

The bedroom curtains were pulled back, and she could clearly see the heavy snowfall over the city. She could see the snow climbing up their windowsill as it collected on top of itself from their balcony. The skyscrapers that were usually visible were hidden from view behind the wall of falling snow, creating a thick curtain of white.

As Avery ran her thumb over Mason's hand, she listened to the sound of her girlfriend's breathing. It was hard _not_ to hear it since it was right behind her head, but it was still comforting. A reminder of how her life worked now, having someone by her side who could help her and wouldn't leave her. Someone who wasn't in it for some ulterior motive.

While she wiped her now misty eyes, Avery could hear Mason's breathing mellow out and feel the tension in her hand relax.

 _'Huh, she actually went back to sleep.'_ She sighed happily and closed her eyes, intertwining her fingers with Mason's. It wouldn't be long until Mason woke up again and got started on her day, but Avery was going to enjoy the feeling of her girlfriend spooning her if it was the last thing she did.

And soon enough Avery's breathing mellowed out alongside Mason's, their breath's in sync as the snow continued to fall outside the pair's window. As Avery descended into sleep, she missed a small pair of eyes at the door of their bedroom door, followed by a white fluffy mess known as Mochi.

The fat cat shambled forward, eyeing the two sleeping forms from where he stood. With a small leap, the cat found himself at the foot of the bed. From where the cat sat, he could see the content look on their primary caretaker's face, and the happy grin that was visible on the secondary caretaker's face.

The cat sat there, its tail swishing slowly behind it, before it stood on its' haunches, and crept towards the pair. It's pace was slow, nearly stumbling over the leg's of the taller caretaker, but it eventually made it to the sleeping duo.

Mochi sat there for a moment, watching Avery's sleeping face, before he meowed quietly and snuck underneath Avery's and Mason's arms. Mochi wrapped his tail around himself, and quickly settled next to them with his back against Avery's slowly expanding, and decompressing, body.

Soon enough, the white cat's breathing slowed just like the other two, and the only sound that disturbed the veil of silence was their gentle breathing.


	9. Heat

The very air felt like it was trying to suffocate Avery, but she couldn't decide if passing out from heat stroke was worth it or not.

Like everywhere else in the country, they were currently in the middle of a record high summer that had refused to loosen its grip on the slowly suffocating denizens. Windows were shut and air conditioners were cranked up to max, at least, up until the city's enormous power consumption led to an outage that every citizen of the city was forced to deal with.

Like so many of their neighbors, Avery and Mason's apartment sat in what felt like suspended animation, like at any moment the air conditioning could come back on and save them from a stifling demise. But, alas, no reprisal came to save them.

From where she was laying on the cool wooden floor, Avery could spy Mason a little ways away sitting against the wall, still decked out in her workout clothes. Her sports bra and leggings had spared her somewhat from the rising temperatures which was quite unlike how Avery's situation had started. Her hoodie and lazy pants had done nothing to help her survive the heat, and had been replaced by her pajama clothing early on.

Feeling the wooden floor beneath her start to warm, Avery pressed her arms against her stomach and rolled to the side. Momentarily finding herself in the gaze of the window, she couldn't help but hiss from the heat that was kissing her skin from the sun-cooked flooring underneath her. The gaze of the sun had angled to the point that it was stretching across the room, like an evil monolithic checkpoint. Thankfully, her rolling quickly rolled out of sight of the dastardly sun, and found her spiraling body had taken her to a cool part of the floor, out of sight of the sun thanks to the couple's couch that had been sitting on the opposite side of the slowly burning floor from where she had started.

From where she laid, Avery could see Mason staring at them with a small grin on her face that clashed with the furrowing of her brow, her eyes that screamed both discomfort, and amusement. Her usual impassive look had been slowly broken by the heat of the air, which seemed to almost revel in the despair of the city's residents. Avery was sure the malevolent air was cackling as it squeezed water from their bodies, striking some down where they stood.

Pressing her arms against her body again, Avery silently said her goodbyes to the floor underneath her before rolling again, this time toward her girlfriend. Progress was quick. The floor was clean, quite unlike Aunt Wendy's old apartment, so Avery didn't feel too gross about rolling on the floor. In no time at all, Avery had to stop as the immovable presence known as Mason's foot was gently bonked by Avery's sweaty head.

Refusing to give up, Avery pushed her head back against Mason's foot. Despite _clearly_ having the capacity to do so, the foot relented underneath the pitiful strength of Avery's head. Feeling the leg give way, Avery pressed her advantage, and rolled slowly over Mason's legs as if her head was a cart on a roller coaster and Mason's legs were the rails.

At some point, her body must have angled while she was rolling. Didn't really matter to her, but it explained feeling her hip hit the wall that Mason was laying against. Thankfully, she had stopped at seemingly the perfect spot, with Mason's thighs underneath her head while they stared each other down. Avery's eyes were filled with a soft contentment, mixing with Mason's look of amusement and happiness. Mason must've seen something she liked, because her furrowed brows receded back to their neutral position. Her grin seemed to grow somewhat, and Avery felt Mason's hand slowly press against her head as her fingers languidly ran through Avery's hair. Gently, Avery saw Mason's other hand move, and felt it slowly press against her neck in the way that always made her heart race.

Ignoring her growing heart rate, Avery slowly rolled her head, until her cheek pressed against Mason's thighs. She pushed against Mason's thighs, and placed a multitude of little kisses along where her lips could reach causing Mason to quietly snort. Mason's fingers softly pressed against little points along her neck while the one on top of Avery's head continued to slowly trail though her girlfriend's white hair.

With a little effort, Avery raised her own hand and rested it against one of Mason's muscular arms. One of the fit woman's eyebrows rose up in question, only to lower again as Avery simply ran her thumb over her girlfriend's skin.

As the sun continued to cross the vast dark abyss of space and the earth was flung around the giant ball of fire at super speed, Avery and Mason laid in their stifling apartment as time seemed to pass at some unknown pace. Avery eventually cuddled up against Mason's body, wrapping her arms around her. Mason continued to play with their hair quietly, while her other hand moved to ghost across Avery's arm, fingers softly touching.

It didn't take too long for Avery's eyes to close, and even less time for her breathing to slow and ger grip to go limp. Watching her girlfriend drift asleep, Mason's ears twitched from the sound of the ac kicking up, the dull hum filling the apartment along with a few scattered cheers coming from the hallway outside.

Feeling the cool air wash over her, Mason let out a quiet sigh of relief as her body sagged against the wall. Sure, cuddling with her girlfriend was nice, but the stifling heat _had_ been making it somewhat uncomfortable.

Fighting the urge to yawn, Mason looked down to Avery's sleeping face, a look of content on her face that matched the unknowing smile she had. Letting herself indulge a bit, she softly brushed a few strands of hair off of her girlfriend's face, careful as to not disturb her.

Looking over the rest of Avery's body, she couldn't help but click her tongue in distaste at the sight of Avery's legs stretched out so far away. Reaching over while being careful to not shift her legs to much, Mason gently scooped her arm over the back of Avery's knees and pulled them closer, bringing Avery's sleeping body into a somewhat fetal position.

Letting her hand rest against Avery's legs, Mason couldn't stop the quiet yawn that escaped her, and couldn't stop the weight of her eyelids from bringing them to a close.

She'd get them to bed later. Sure it'd put a crick in her back, sleeping like this, but it was worth it.


	10. A Ride

Avery's eyes opened slowly as she felt her head gently jostle against something, tickling her face. Something was wrapped around her thighs, and she was hanging onto whatever it was. Her drowsy eyes could make out the color of grey shuffling against her face, rubbing parts of her hair between Avery's cheek and whatever the grey thing was.

Avery blinked once, twice, and a third time before she inched her head upwards with whatever energy she had so she could see over whatever the grey was. Dark colors passed her by, interrupted by the slow sway of...red? Not really _red_ red, more like a pinkish-red.

 _'There's a word for it...pink and red...come on...'_ It started with an "S" didn't it? Maybe it would help if she leaned back to see what the thing was? That seemed smart, right?

In her honest opinion, she tried to get a better angle of what was in front of her eyes, she really did! Whatever had caught her eye was striking a deep sense of familiarity in her, a presence of... _right_ in her. She couldn't place what the feeling was that seemed to be in every part of her body. It ached a dull ache from the tips of her toes to the back of her brain, a feeling of something she couldn't remember the words for.

She liked this feeling, Avery knew that much. Was this a feeling she felt all the time? She couldn't remember, and the gentle sway of whatever was in front of her wasn't helping. It eased her head, like a gentle mother rocking her child to sleep. Her head rolled from each shift until Avery grew too tired to hold her head up and let it softly land on the grey thing holding her up. The grey blob in front of her twitched mid step, and Avery saw a flash of green near the sea of...whatever color that wavy thing was.

Avery blinked again and the color came more into focus. It was a...something. Oh, wait, hair! It was hair! The tips of the nicely colored hair bobbed from side to side slowly in front of her eyes to the sway of whatever, _whoever,_ Avery was holding onto. This was someone she knew, someone she knew _very_ well, but who? Who had such nicely colored hair?

 _'I like that hair.'_ She couldn't remember whose hair it was,but she knew she liked looking at it. It was such a nice color...whatever name the color was. She definitely liked looking at it.

' _I like holding it too.'_ Avery blinked once as she quirked her head in confusion. Where had that thought come from? It left her confused, but in agreement. She liked looking at it, but she liked touching that hair _more._ She liked running her fingers through the soft locks of hair while amidst in strong cuddling. She liked playfully tugging on it to kiss whoever that hair belonged to. She liked holding _fistfulls of that hair as she grinded her hips-_

Avery blinked a few times in surprise from the sudden memory. She remembered seeing the flash of green there too. She liked seeing that shade of green. But which did she like more?

Avery quirked her head again, and held her head up again to look at the person holding them. She couldn't see the flash of green from where she was, but she could make out the person's strong jawline. Avery liked that person's jawline. It was strong like the person who had that jawline.

Avery wasn't strong, but she knew the person carrying her was. Where were they taking her?

"...Where are we...?" Her voice was tired. Avery was tired. Why was she tired? A shift in color made her look forward to see the face move towards them, and Avery could see the shade of green again!

The deep shade of green belonged to the person's eyes, much to Avery's surprise. How could someone's eyes be so green? They seemed to shine like emeralds, and Avery found her own eyes clouding over. Why were they clouding over, did eyes do that? Oh, she was crying. The person with her didn't seem to like that she was crying, and Avery soon found their butt resting on the cold sidewalk. Why was she on the ground? Her butt didn't like the ground!

More tears fell from her eyes as she sat on the ground in confusion. Why was she on the ground? Why was she crying? Where was the other person?

Oh, they were right in front of her. Not _'they'_ , she! It was _Mason_ in front of her! And she remembered why she was crying too! Score! Although she soon found her vision somewhat obscured by Mason wiping at her tears, a look of worry on her beautiful face.

"What's th' matter?" Her voice only seemed to make Avery cry more, who placed her hands against Mason's cheeks and bumped her forehead against Mason's.

"Y-you're s-s-so beautif-ful!" As she gently butted her head against Mason's, she could hear the larger woman laugh quietly. "I-It's not funny! Y-You're so amazing and pretty and strong and stuff, and I'm just some dumb old kid who's with the greatest girlfriend she co-" Avery's tear stained face found itself pushed into the crook of Mason's neck, her blubbering muffled by Mason's strong embrace. Mason's arms had coiled themselves around Avery's body, and Avery was quick to reply as she wrapped her arms around Mason's neck.

"You're _not_ dumb. You are one of the kindest people I have _ever_ met. I wake up in the morning and I wonder how _lucky_ I am to be with someone as wonderful as you." Mason's voice grew quiet before she slowly pulled her head back to stare into Avery's misty eyes. It must've been a trick of the low lighting, but Avery could've sworn she saw Mason's eyes glitter.

"You have changed my life _so much,_ and I'm thankful for every moment you've given me. I love you Avery, and I can't imagine living my life without you." Avery's slowly lessening tears were seemingly replaced immediately by an ever flowing river, and she found her her head soon buried in Mason's neck again, blubbering words as she held onto Mason's tear stained jacket.

She wrapped her arms around Mason's neck and held tight, afraid that at any moment Mason would disappear. Likewise, Mason wrapped her arms around Avery and carefully picked her up bridal style with her strength that Avery loved so much about her.

After a moment to secure her arms, Mason set off towards the couple's apartment with an emotional Avery in her arms. The younger woman wiped her tears with the sleeve of her jacket while staring up at her girlfriend.

Avery loved Mason, she knew that with every fiber of her being. From her pretty salmon pink hair (that was the word!) and strong muscles to her stoic yet loving personality. She loved it all, but had she told Mason that?

Using her arms to pull herself upwards, she placed a fumbling kiss against the underside of her girlfriend's chin before rubbing her face against Mason's neck.

"I love you too." Mason smiled at her in a way Avery had only seen a few times, but had so much happiness in it, that Avery couldn't help but smile back at it. Mason pulled her closer and gently rested her head against Avery's, nuzzling her head in a way that reminded Avery of an affectionate cat. She was quick to reciprocate as she bumped her head gently against Mason's.

Mason soon started walking again, carrying her loving girlfriend in her arms. Avery soon fell asleep once again, resting her head on Mason's shoulder as she pulled her knees closer to her body.

She loved Mason, and she couldn't be happier than how she felt right now.


End file.
